Page 43 of Raising Hell

The clothes flatter my body, the green muted enough to be sophisticated, but bright enough to make me stand out. They aren’t trying to hide me or make me blend in. Against their black suits, they’ve made me the focus.

Me.

Suppressing tears, I lift my eyes upward. Extra curly and full of volume, my hair is pushed out of my face. It’s total sex hair—a controlled chaos that’s intentionally messy while still put-together. My eyes are extra vivid against the color of the suit, bright green against my fair complexion and soft with the sheen of tears.

I can’t stop staring at the man in the mirror. “It’s… I look…”

“Handsome?” Cas offers.

“Exquisite?” Amon says, but I shake my head at both of them.

“I look likeme, just better.”

Side by side, they step forward and flank me, shaking their heads as they stare. There’s no more hiding as every emotion crosses their faces. Fur brushes my leg and I glance down to find Shadow, rubbing against the black leather loafers on my feet as her tail flickers.

“No, sweetheart,” Cas says, running a gentle finger down my cheek and bringing my gaze back to his. “You look likeyou. Just as gorgeous as the first time I laid eyes on you.”

“Come on,” Amon says, winding his arm through mine as Cas does the same. “Let’s go turn some heads.”

People are staring.

At me.

They gawk, even, as we walk straight past the long line waiting to get into the club. At least one girl openly points, but Amon and Cas don’t miss a beat even as I want to melt into the ground.

I can imagine the whispers.What is that plain, skinny-fat redhead doing with those two drop-dead gorgeous guys? Why does he think he’s hot enough to skip the line?

I wonder if they think I hired escorts.

Oh, my god.

It totally looks like I hired escorts.

Because there’s no other plausible way that these two stunning…

“Rory.” Amon’s voice carries his usual demanding authority as I crane my neck to meet his onyx eyes. His lips bulge out as he rolls his tongue along his teeth inside his mouth, the tiniest lift to his brow as he stares down at me.

I sigh when I realize he’s expecting a reply. “Yes, Amon?”

He grips my chin and leans in, his lip pulling up just far enough to show me the very tips of his teeth. “I’m going to need you to stop now.”

My throat bobs as I swallow. “Stop what?”

That hand moves down to my neck and I’m dizzy as he leans even closer. “So much sass underneath that sweet face,” he murmurs, his thumb scraping back and forth over my windpipe. He tugs me forward, squeezing just enough to strain my breath into a rasp. “Stop thinking you’re anything less than perfect.”

Cas reprimands me with a click of his tongue. Sandwiching me between them, he runs his hand through my hair and turns my face towards him. My eyes wander to the line where people still stare, but he tightens his grip with a low growl. “Don’t look at them. Look at us.”

“They’re staring,” I whisper, and he gives me a sweet smile before he presses a soft kiss to my lips.

“Let them.” He guides my face back to Amon, whose kiss is more aggressive, and this time, I’m positive there’s a chorus of scandalized gasps.

Pearl clutching in the club line… now that’s ripe.

“Tell me what you are,” Amon demands. When I don’t answer, his lip twitches in that sexy snarl again. “Tell me you’re perfect.”

My knees are noodles as I whisper, “I’m perfect.”

“Damn straight,” Cas says, giving a cheeky slap to my ass and holding tight. “Now that we’ve settled that, it’s time to get inside and show off our boy.”

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